Phantom of the Opera (1943)
Category:Films | directed by = Arthur Lubin | written by = Samuel Hoffenstein Eric Taylor | produced by = Jack J. Gross; George Waggner | music by = Edward Ward | cinematography = W. Howard Greene; Hal Mohr | edited by = Russell Schoengarth | distributed by = Universal Pictures | release date(s) = August 27th, 1943 | mpaa rating = | running time = 92 min. | country = | language = English | budget = $1,500,000 | gross revenue = | preceded by = | followed by = }} The Phantom of the Opera is an American horror film based upon the 1909 novel, Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by French author Gaston Leroux. Directed by Arthur Lubin, it is the first remake of the original 1925 black and white silent film Phantom of the Opera starring the late Lon Chaney, Sr. The Phantom of the Opera was produced by Universal Pictures and was released theatrically on August 27th, 1943. This is the first colorized adaptation of Leroux's novel and stars Wolf Man actor Claude Rains as Erique Claudin, the tortured French musician who ultimately becomes the Phantom. This is one of the only adaptations that shows the Phantom character before he suffers the great disfigurement that forces him to don a mask and lurk behind the shadows. Other actors in the film include Susanna Foster as Christine Dubois, Edgar Barrier as Raoul D'Aubert and Nelson Eddy as Anatole Garron. Plot Cast Notes * Production on The Phantom of the Opera began on January 21st, 1943 and concluded in April. * The Phantom of the Opera was released to DVD by Universal Studios on April 12th, 2005. The DVD includes audio commentary, a making of featurette and production stills. * All of the operatic scores used in this picture were in the public domain. * The set used for the Paris Opera House is the same set used in the 1925 Phantom of the Opera film. The production crew spent $100,000 to soundproof the opera stage, which was not required in the original silent film. * The original script revealed Claudin to be Christine's father, who abandoned her and her mother in order to pursue a musical career. When this was excised from the final film, it left Claudin's obsession with Christine unexplained. IMDB; The Phantom of the Opera (1943); Trivia * Final horror film appearance for actor Claude Rains. Rain previously played Sir John Talbot in 1941's The Wolf Man and the eponymous villain in James Whale's 1933 classic The Invisible Man. * Actress Susanna Foster actually performed the sequences for "Lullaby of the Bells", "Amore Et Gloire", and "Marta, Act III". The opera solo "Lullaby of the Bells" was composed by Edward Ward. * Director Arthur Lubin also directed the 1941 Bud Abbott and Lou Costello comedy Hold That Ghost. The Phantom of the Opera was originally pitched to be another Abbott and Costello comedy, but Universal Pictures opted to make a straight-forward romantic-horror film instead. Fun Facts * The tagline for this film is "It will live in your memory forever". Recommendations External Links * * * The Phantom of the Opera at Wikipedia * * * References Keywords 19th century | Burn victims | Disfigurement | France | Paris ---- Category:Universal Pictures Category:1940s/Films Category:1943/Films Category:August, 1943/Films Category:Remakes Category:Based on a novel Category:Theatrically released films Category:P/Films